Zoom revolutionizes recording with the first digital recorder with 16-track playback and 8-track simultaneous recording that uses Secure Digital (SD) memory. The R16 recorder is three production tools in one incredibly versatile device. It's a digital multi-track recorder, an audio interface and a control surface, providing you with all the tools necessary to create studio-quality recordings anywhere.

The R16 combines a remarkable level of functionality with intuitive design. For recording purposes, the unit supports up to 32GB SD cards (includes 2GB card), allowing over 100 track hours of recording. The flexibility of SD recording not only makes the R16 lighter and more portable, it also ensures increased reliability with no concern for a crashing hard drive. You can even have respective SD cards dedicated to specific recording sessions. Back up your project on a USB memory stick.

With the ability to record up to 8 tracks simultaneously, it's easy to capture a live band or even a complete drum kit. The R16 features built-in stereo condenser microphones for field recording or quick, convenient "sketch-pad" capturing of ideas and rehearsals. It also provides 8 combination XLR-1/4-inch inputs along with one Hi-Z input for direct connection of guitar or bass. And the R16 also runs on 6 AA batteries for the ultimate in multi-track portability.

USB operation means you can control each function of your favorite DAW software from the R16 for easy mixing with fine-tuned control. Incorporate any of the 100+ built-in studio effects to enhance your recording and use the pro-quality mastering effects to complete that studio sound. You can even connect two R16s via USB for synchronized operation and 16 tracks of simultaneous recording.

With the Zoom R16, versatility, control and comprehensive features come together in a single device that puts the power to produce professional recordings right at your fingertips.

There are a few short comings with the R16 such as it not having 1 thousand dollar ADA's (lolz!) and less than 48 inputs~ but for the average music fan trying to get...Read complete review

There are a few short comings with the R16 such as it not having 1 thousand dollar ADA's (lolz!) and less than 48 inputs~ but for the average music fan trying to get tracks down with a minimum of wasted time,cash and maximum results, this is the answer I was looking for. With the Musician's Friend fast delivery and guarantee I felt confident buying this. I like the solid feel of the control surface, the flexible design and the look of this machine.I got my R16 from Musician's Friend a few days ago and discovered that setting it up was pretty easy. I bought several sound cards and break out recording devices over the last few years and some of them never really worked well. Cash has been an issue for myself but I do know what quality is about, having recorded on every thing from a Fostex 4 track cassette, Otari 4 track reel to reel and on up to to a Trident 48 Channel mixer. (I was just helping with the Trident, it was pretty intense to even look at!) For about the cost of a half day in a pro studio you can buy a full stereo Zoom R16 that has a built in Controller and audio interface. (Maybe a laptop too)

I have been a Cubase fan since the days of the Atari st 1040, so using the included Cubase LE 5 was not very hard at all. I know that with gear lust the temptation is always there to have the latest and greatest but for the "average" real world user such as myself having ANY digital recording is satisfying. The R16 controls the Cubase LE 5 in a direct manner and was easy to install and operate. I easily spent dozens of hours trying to get various sound cards and break out boxes to sync up, one of these I bought here on Amazon. I gave it a really bad review after the stupid thing turned out to be pretty worthless. A Yamaha model was almost 200$ and it was such a hassle, the included effects were very difficult to program, utilize and sort out. The Zoom effects are very nice IMHO and get to the point.

When I first took recording and synthesizer classes at LCC's lab back in about 1984 when MIDI was quite new, instructor Ed McManus told us that keeping things simple was a real objective. Over the years I have become interested in results, not in tedious sample tweaking and fiddling with numerous settings, or of saving up for the day I could get state of the art gear. This recorder is easy to set up, easy to use and makes no sound. A battery? Nice. Built in mics? Convenient for grabbing stuff. You can sample in the field with this or do great recordings. Boot leg albums have been recorded on far less.

If you are considering this machine you probably realize that this is the result of a mature digital technology. It offers a lot of features and value. I would compare it to the early 4 track cassette machines in ease of use but add that it sounds very. very nice and goes far beyond being a simple recorder. Instead of dreaming of an effective mini/MIDI home studio- make it a reality.The R16 has NO MIDI but you can be creative about using MIDI with it. I am very glad I sometimes have the chance to use high end gear but even happier to afford something useful, powerful and nice sounding. I use sequencers, synthesis of different types, drum machines and a computer. This is one of my best additions in years!

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

Good machine, if you're not old school!!

Got this unit a year ago (along with a separate 3rd party instruction DVD) and am still having a heck of a time recording much. The initial recording end isn't THAT bad, but...Read complete review

Got this unit a year ago (along with a separate 3rd party instruction DVD) and am still having a heck of a time recording much. The initial recording end isn't THAT bad, but mixing and mastering are just TOO COMPLICATED with the layers and layers of menus in this thing. I guess I wasn't aware that this machine requires a basic knowledge of digital recording to even being to understand how to use it. As hard as it is to believe, there are a LOT of us folks out there who don't get menus and never will, who basically grew up with analogue 4-track machines and are comfortable in that form of recording with real knobs, buttons, and meters that you can feel, see, and control. DAW's are not in my vocabulary, either, other than Audacity, so that's where I'm coming from here with this review. So it's fair to say that I'm a novice when it comes to digital recording and it's techno-speak.

However, I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, but being from that old school of simple analogue recording, this unit is about as far from simple as it gets. The manual that comes with the R16 is very complex and incredibly confusing, and in fact is even somewhat contradictory in a place or two, especially in when, how, and why you add effects. After finally going on the internet (believe it or not) to find out how to add effects on this thing, there were several different answers from user forums and people who had the same problem, but still no simple explanation!! Are you kidding?? And the separate instructional DVD I bought to help learn this machine's many functions was straight-forward enough in the beginning, but it, too fell short when explaining simple, step-by-step mixing and mastering techniques on the ZOOM R16 - - it quickly jumped all around and went much too fast for the novice. It just assumed too much about the previous digital recording experience of the user, a common trait of instructional videos.

Like I said, this thing would be totally awesome for younger, more tech-savvy folks who instinctively "get" the newer digital terminology and language, but for us older, simpler 4-track folks it's just too darn complicated - - listen, I've been a pro musician for over 30 years and have had lots of experience in the studio, produced and recorded my own music for decades, but on analogue equipment with real faders, buttons, and switches - - this ZOOM unit is just too complicated for me - - there, I admit it. I've used it to record a few songs, but the time it takes just to put them down is ridiculous and you constantly have to go back through the many different levels of the menu for different effects, eq's, and they are often over-lapping to the point you can screw up your initial idea and have to start over - - just too confusing. Lightweight, powerful, compact, and feature-laden, YES. Easy to use and intuitive for the novice to digital recording, NO!! Oh for the days of just pushing a button and recording - - is that too much to ask??

I'm not sure how the thing will hold up physically, either - - very lightweight plastic housing, cheap faders, and fragile-feeling controls just don't seem very study to me. The included Cubase LE software is useless, too, so I'm just totally fed up and am going with something more user-friendly and familiar like the Tascam DP-02 - - that thing is awesome, and at least it's much more intuitive and even I can use it without much trouble. It's not like I'm going to do a whole cd on the thing at once - - just simple acoustic arrangements and a few tracks at a time to take to my studio guy to mixdown - - without jumping through all the endless hoops in the tiny, menu-driven display of the ZOOM R16 - - which is a great, feature-rich unit no doubt for the experienced techno-head, but for old-school folks I wouldn't recommend it. It's just not right for my use, period. Life's too short for all this stuff, and recording should be easy, quick, and above all FUN, like in the old days. At least with the Tascam, it's a lot closer than trying to figure out the ZOOM menus.

I'm amazed at the quality of the R16 for such a reasonable price. I've used in the studio and in the field for live performances. It's everything you hope for and more. I suggest someone offer more online tutorials because the manual is very poor. This unit can be confusing at times and the manual makes it worse.

I use the R16 as an interface and control surface for R.E.A.P.E.R. (DAW). It is dead simple and as a control surface is indispensable. I used to use a Behringer USB board and had to get the manual out every time I went to use it. With the R16 it is literally 3 presses of the enter key, start my DAW and I'm good to go. Totally worth it.

I am very pleased with this recorder...it is exactly what it says it is, and for the price you wont find a better product...keep in mind it IS plastic and WILL break if dropped or anything falls on it and if you are a newbie in the digital recording world you might be put off by its interface (scroll menus)if you plan on using the internal effects and editing functions,ect...but everything you need to just record a track is a simple as plugging in a mic, "arming" the track u want to record to and pushing record/play...just like the old tape machines.

I also love the fact it is truly portable and its onboard mics sound pretty good if the levels and proximity is correct....makes "field recording" a breeze.

Bought mine in October 2012 and it died in October 2013, 11 days past the warranty. It had less than 20hrs. of use and was well taken care of. When it worked the sound quality was fair. The USB port made it easy to transfer files to your computer. It had a ton of features, but could be a straight forward recorder for the guy's who like it simple. None of that means anything if its a lemon like mine. Still no reply from the manufacturer on a repair. I don't think it matters much because I opened it up since there isn't a warranty left on it and was dissapointed more in the construction once opened. I don't think its worth dropping any more money into it.

This device is an amazing multi-track recording device. As soon as I brought this out to record our shows live, I became the most popular local musician! Everyone wants to borrow this thing.

For live recording, I set up a pair of cheap CAD condenser mics near the board and get a few lines out and I can record some great tracks.

For studio recording, I bring this to our studio and record 8 tracks live off the floor - either to a laptop & DAW or just to the card (mostly to the SD card). I have a big drum kit, so when we're doing more formal recording, all 8 tracks are drums. But for demos, I record 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 vocal, 4 drums and 1 room mic.

The included Cubase is quite good, but I upgraded it to Cubase 7 Artist and I'm super happy.

The downside is that this is not a very user friendly mixer, nor is it a good stand-alone DAW. Without using a computer/software, you're going to hate it. The menus are so unwieldy that I don't even bother naming the tracks.

Well I found this used complete in box and couldn't pass it up, and I think the asking price is pretty fair for what this does.

I've had a few tape 4 tracks and digital 8 tracks, but they were always limited to having 2 inputs meaning drums for instance would have to be miked up in a mixer then run into the portastudio and hopefully you got it right because there's no going back... Well not with this! You can use up to 8 inputs all at once and there's 16 tracks in all!

You can run all the mics into this, set the input gain on each of them, then run the output to a PA. And if volumes need to be tweaked you can adjust the faders without affecting the signal coming in and make great live recordings. Never before was I able to do this as it all had to be set before I hit record.

I'm now learning what this can do as an interface using the included Cubase, so far I like what I see!

If you're in to live recording or just love to record band practices this is a great tool!!

Got this unit a year ago (along with a separate 3rd party instruction DVD) and am still having a heck of a time recording much. The initial recording end isn't THAT bad, but mixing and mastering are just TOO COMPLICATED with the layers and layers of menus in this thing. I guess I wasn't aware that this machine requires a basic knowledge of digital recording to even being to understand how to use it. As hard as it is to believe, there are a LOT of us folks out there who don't get menus and never will, who basically grew up with analogue 4-track machines and are comfortable in that form of recording with real knobs, buttons, and meters that you can feel, see, and control. DAW's are not in my vocabulary, either, other than Audacity, so that's where I'm coming from here with this review. So it's fair to say that I'm a novice when it comes to digital recording and it's techno-speak.

However, I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, but being from that old school of simple analogue recording, this unit is about as far from simple as it gets. The manual that comes with the R16 is very complex and incredibly confusing, and in fact is even somewhat contradictory in a place or two, especially in when, how, and why you add effects. After finally going on the internet (believe it or not) to find out how to add effects on this thing, there were several different answers from user forums and people who had the same problem, but still no simple explanation!! Are you kidding?? And the separate instructional DVD I bought to help learn this machine's many functions was straight-forward enough in the beginning, but it, too fell short when explaining simple, step-by-step mixing and mastering techniques on the ZOOM R16 - - it quickly jumped all around and went much too fast for the novice. It just assumed too much about the previous digital recording experience of the user, a common trait of instructional videos.

Like I said, this thing would be totally awesome for younger, more tech-savvy folks who instinctively "get" the newer digital terminology and language, but for us older, simpler 4-track folks it's just too darn complicated - - listen, I've been a pro musician for over 30 years and have had lots of experience in the studio, produced and recorded my own music for decades, but on analogue equipment with real faders, buttons, and switches - - this ZOOM unit is just too complicated for me - - there, I admit it. I've used it to record a few songs, but the time it takes just to put them down is ridiculous and you constantly have to go back through the many different levels of the menu for different effects, eq's, and they are often over-lapping to the point you can screw up your initial idea and have to start over - - just too confusing. Lightweight, powerful, compact, and feature-laden, YES. Easy to use and intuitive for the novice to digital recording, NO!! Oh for the days of just pushing a button and recording - - is that too much to ask??

I'm not sure how the thing will hold up physically, either - - very lightweight plastic housing, cheap faders, and fragile-feeling controls just don't seem very study to me. The included Cubase LE software is useless, too, so I'm just totally fed up and am going with something more user-friendly and familiar like the Tascam DP-02 - - that thing is awesome, and at least it's much more intuitive and even I can use it without much trouble. It's not like I'm going to do a whole cd on the thing at once - - just simple acoustic arrangements and a few tracks at a time to take to my studio guy to mixdown - - without jumping through all the endless hoops in the tiny, menu-driven display of the ZOOM R16 - - which is a great, feature-rich unit no doubt for the experienced techno-head, but for old-school folks I wouldn't recommend it. It's just not right for my use, period. Life's too short for all this stuff, and recording should be easy, quick, and above all FUN, like in the old days. At least with the Tascam, it's a lot closer than trying to figure out the ZOOM menus.

Yes, I gave it 5 stars and mean it. But I should point out that I was only interested in a few of its talents - the 8/16 input track recorder, the mixdown to stereo, and the data transfer of the ".wav". As a special bonus, it was not hard to transfer the mixdown data from the unit and SD card (16 G that I did buy separately) to a USB memory card. And then of course putting the USB card in my desktop, transferred the completed projects just fine. I did not use Cubase or internal sound effects, as I have software here and an Alesis effects unit that I am fine with. So, for my needs, I am very happy with this unit. :) Even as it is, it replaces 3 or 4 boxes from my old system, and improves the quality at the same time. Recording and mix down in the same unit ... at 44 Khz wav quality ... I love. And USB transfer, I also love. Today I did two songs completely and transferred, but I admit 3 inputs each - two of which were midi finals, so then with 8 parts midi perhaps, I did 9 parts or so using 3 recording slots. Worked fine.

First off, let me say that I love this piece of equipment as a standalone recorder. It has probably helped me enjoy my music hobby more than any other piece of equipment that I own. I am currently using it as a standalone recorder and I am five star happy with it.

However, it was also billed as an interface. Alas, I have not been able to get the supplied Cubase software to work with my computer. I am very experienced with computers, and have spent considerable time on the phone with support and we have not been able to get it to work at all. It looks like I will need to buy a dedicated computer to use just as a DAW. I'll probably reformat the hard drive and only have Windows, Antivirus, and Cubase software on it. That's my plan for the future.

If I were recommending this to a friend, I would tell him or her that it is a great standalone recorder, but do not plan on using it as an interface with Cubase software unless you are willing to make a time and money commitment.

I was suspicious of the quality, so I bought two. I do remote TV stuff, so a backup was a good idea.

One unit has been flawless, easy to use, and remarkably good. The other had to be sent back for nuisance repairs after 3 weeks. The 1/4" jack plugs were so tight, it actually ripped apart a plug when I tried to remove it. I decided against opening the unit in case that voided the warrantly. Then, the plastic cover for the memory card broke. Shortly after, the entire unit stopped working properly. So I sent it back.

That was almost three months ago.

So...one unit was great...the other had issues, and Zoom hasn't been all that prompt in fixing the thing. Still...I gave it 3 stars. And I'd recommend it.